TRACK AND FIELD: Bush, Pierson repeat, put Spring-Ford on top at PAC-10 Championships

BOYERTOWN — One jump was all it took for Joe Bush to repeat as the triple jump champion.

Ryan Pierson did not even pick up the pole for his first vault until the field had shrunk down to less than a dozen before promptly repeating as the pole vault champion.

The two Spring-Ford standouts were the boys lone repeat winners on the first day of the Pioneer Athletic Conference Track and Field Championships Friday at the Boyertown’s Memorial Stadium.

The high-flying duo got Rams off to a great start in their chase for their third straight PAC-10 team title.

After the first day, Spring-Ford was leading in the boys team standings with 43 points, ahead of Methacton (35) and Owen J. Roberts (23).

The bulk of the meet is yet to come, starting at 9 a.m., Saturday, back at Boyertown.

But Bush and Pierson were not the only winners on the opening day. Pottstown senior Mason Weber lived up to his top seed and won the discus with a 138-11 to come away with his first PAC-10 championship.

Methacton distance standout Curtis Watro came in as a misleading eighth seed in the 3,200 meters but promptly proved again that he is the league’s distance best, winning with ease.

With the boys pole vault the opening event, Pierson was the first one to walk away with a victory, easily clearing a 14-6, a foot higher than his winning one of 13-6 last year.

“I am very excited to have won it two years in a row,” Pierson said, all smiles. “It’s a shame I’m a senior and can’t come back next year, but good luck to everybody else.”

One reason it is really a shame for Pierson is because he very much wanted to break that PAC-10 record of 15-4 set by former Phoenixville standout Tony Shirk back in 2006. And Pierson had cleared a 15-0 in the Rams final dual last week.

“I was hoping to break it, but came up short,” he said. “But I’ve been after 15-0 all year, that was my main goal. And I am still happy with today. I was a little nervous when he (Boyertown’s David McLarnon) cleared 13 feet and I’m happy to have won.”

McLarnon, a Boyertown sophomore, was the only other one getting past an 11-6.

“It’s nice to have someone better to watch,” McLarnon said. “With Ryan there, I was more motivated to get the heights. I just love pole vaulting against him, it’s really been fun. It was a big thing to me to finish close up with the big seniors, being just a little sophomore. The fact that they are all a lot older than me makes me push myself to catch up with them.”

But it was pretty much a given Pierson would win it, with the standout season he had this year. Asked what made him even so much better, Pierson said, “Lifting weights a lot. Running. Taking private pole vault at Vertical Assault in Bethlehem.”

And then he rushed off to the triple jump, which he also added this year because he wants to try the decathlon in college when he moves on to the University of Alabama next year. He finished ninth in the triple.

But, once again, there was no beating Bush in the triple jump, which he won with a 44-4, almost two feet better than last year’s winning leap of 42-11½.

Last year Bush was all giddy and big smiles when he fought his way from a sixth seed to victory, leaving everyone else behind in the dust. This year he came in seeded second behind Kevin Kennedy, who he had feared most last year.

“It feels good,” Bush said. “I don’t know why, but I’m not as up about this year. I’m just so tired now.”

Because unlike last year, he also had to run the 100 and 200 meter prelims, putting much more on his plate. As a sophomore last year, it was also a feeling of the start of a promising track and field career.

“I wanted to run the 100 and 200 this year because I found out I was good at them,” he said. “I like triple jump, but it’s not my favorite event. I’m happy I won it. I think I was more high last year because I didn’t expect to win. I also took only one jump this year because my knee is hurt, was killing me.”

Two hours later Bush found out nobody was able to beat that one early jump.

“This year what has me most pumped is I want to also win the long jump,” he said. “Four goals this year (I also want to win) the 100, 200 and long jump. One down and three to go.”

Bush beat Kennedy, who was fighting a knee injury and finished third (43-½), with Pottstown basketball standout Antonio Moore the surprise second-place finisher with a 43-3½.

“I didn’t finish good last year, but this year God gave me the chance to jump and get a 43-3 and come in second,” Moore said. “First time I ever jumped that far. When I got that 43-3, I thought maybe I could catch (Bush) because it was way farther than I had ever jumped. So I’m very happy and pretty proud of myself.”

Weber has had his finest throwing season this year and came in the top seed in the discus. He hurled the discus a 138-11, well ahead of second-place finisher Methacton’s Michael Cassidy (128-11).

“It was a good season,” Weber said. “I went undefeated, and there are lot of good throwers out there (in the PAC-10). So I’m proud of myself. I wasn’t too sure about winning. My shoulder is hurting me a little bit. But I was excited to throw today and I’m happy I came out on top.”

It was quite an improvement from fifth last season. Blame the prom for that.

“Last year I had to go to the prom, only threw twice and got fifth place,” Weber said. “Prom is next week, thankfully. But that’s districts and we’re going to have to work that out.”

And closing out the first day was the 3,200. It sure looked like Watro might have trouble pulling ahead in that one. Spring-Ford sophomore Paul Power, the top seed, was leading the early portion of the race by a few yards.

But, as he so often does, Watro made sure he had plenty of the best left for last, and pulled away in the final two laps to finish way ahead of the field with a 9:50.41, ahead of the Rams’ Mike Cassidy (9:56.60), and Power (10:06.04).

“I knew going into it Power was going to be the toughest competition, and that if I stayed with him during the race I definitely had a better chance at the end,” Watro said. “I kind of rely on my kick in this race because he has a better middle of the race than I do. So I kind of let him push me. He had a good race, he surged. Luckily, I read it when he surged and would follow him. But he ran a good race.

“I hadn’t run the 3,200 but twice this season because in most of the PAC-10 meets, I’ve been running two or three (distance) races and by the time we get to the 3,200 there’s just not too much left in the tank. Since it’s the only race today, I was definitely going to run it. And we need the points for the overall team standings. I was hoping to get first place, I PR’d by about 20 seconds since my sophomore year when I ran a 10:12 here and got ninth place, It was exciting to win today.

“My last PAC-10 meet, I want to do well, show everybody what I can do and help my team win.”

And that is what the PAC-10 Championships are always all about especially for those seniors in their last meet.